Besides the traditional right-wing parties (conservative, liberal), new political formations and alliances have emerged which are transforming the political landscape and the language we use to describe it. This article seeks to explore the dimensions of this new nationalist political landscape and conclude by suggesting how to respond to it from both an Evangelical Christian and a missional perspective.
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The 2016 referendum on the UK’s continuing membership of the EU was not the first time UK voters had gone to the polls in an EU referendum, but it is certainly the one that history will recall in any post-2016 account of Europe.
Read MoreAs a nation, Britain was extremely badly prepared for the referendum on EU membership. There is a longstanding legacy of British neglect of the EU, indeed of all things ‘European’, not least among those who shape public debate in politics and the media.
Read MoreMany Christians who said they were going to vote Leave had narratives that dominated their perspective. They didn’t all use the same language but three distinct controlling narratives were repeated over and over again.
Read MoreFor many years I have been interested in mission in Europe, encompassing the preaching of the gospel, justice ministries, and engagement in the public square. This deepened when I had the opportunity to live in Brussels in the 1990s, working in the Legal Service of the European Commission
Read MoreHow concerned are people living in the EU about the environment – and what do they think should be done to address these concerns? This was the focus of a Eurobarometer survey carried out in 2014 across all EU member states.
Read MoreSince the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, as the hope of future prosperity has dissipated, so has confidence in the European project, and almost inevitably, nationalism has returned to Europe.
Read MoreDuring the early 80s, as I became more aware of world and regional politics, European politics was dominated by that apparently impregnable wall separating East from West and of the vast empire of the USSR whose ranks were massed behind it.
Read MoreIn the early days of European integration Christians were heavily represented in the decision-making bodies of the European Communities. As European society changed, however, Christian influence in national governments, and correspondingly the European Council, declined.
Read MoreWriting a book about Europe is not the best way to boost your pension contributions in the current climate. It seems that precious few people care anymore about the European Union.
Read MoreFor so many years we were hearing and almost believing that the church in Europe is about to die. Now we are learning that the church in Europe is only sleeping and that the Lord is about to awaken it
Read MoreThe impact of the recession on European citizens has been inescapable: rising unemployment, public-sector pay freezes (and in some countries reductions),
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Is Europe so culturally diverse, that any talk of common values is to fly in the face of nationalisms and regionalisms which define their identities over and against Europe?
Read MoreIf you ask an average European whether politics is important in their lives more than half of them will say that it is not. The European Values Study suggests that Europeans are disengaged from political participation but remain avid consumers of political ideas.
Read MoreOne hundred and twenty-five million Europeans claim that their religious convictions influence their political choices
Read MoreThe European Evangelical Alliance and CARE are just two of several Christian organisations engaging with the European Parliament on issues as diverse as religious freedom, climate change and trafficking.
Read MoreWhile Europe as a whole may be seen as increasingly secular, there are a surprising number of mentions of God, the church and religion in the constitutions of individual countries. The table below gives an overview
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